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Day 245 - Monday, July 1, 2002
I tried to have computer classes today, but no one was at the high school. All of the teachers called off school so they could go to Choluteca and get their pay checks. I asked later why they had to do this and was told that if they don't pick up their checks on Friday or Monday they send the checks back to the ministry of finance where someone will more than likely take their pay check, cash it, and keep the money for themselves. So on Friday and/or Monday they take the day off and go get paid. I've never heard of such a messed up system.
I kind of took it easy for the after noon as I am still not feeling 100% and went to the cooperative to check on their efforts at entering all the information from the inventory into the computer. Jennifer is sick again with really bad stomach problems and diarrhea.
Day 246 - Tuesday, July 2, 2002
Today we are both feeling better and semi healthy again. I visited the cooperative again and found that one of the obstacles I will face there is keeping from getting drunk while doing my work. Right after I arrived I was given a rum and coke and urged to drink another after baby sipping the first one down. They also made fun of me as I used more coke than rum in the mixture. It looks as if this may be a weekly or semi weekly event that take place after noon during the week.
In the evening we had Spanish classes with Saundra. We are reaching the limits with her as a teacher and are looking for another tutor.
Day 247 - Wednesday, July 3, 2002
We were awaked at 4 am this morning to fireworks and marching band. At first we thought the crazy neighbor below us had finally gone completely off his rocker and was shooting the giant bottle rockets (imagine a bottle rocket the size of a model rocket attached to a 3 1/2 foot stick) that they use to celebrate various activities here was shooting them at our window.
When I heard the marching band I , Woke up at 4am to fireworks and a marching band. Celebrated the 25th anniversary of the high school, which is named after a newspaper reporter turned politician and ambassador to 4 countries. Had Spanish classes
Day 248 - Thursday, July 4, 2002
Today was the 4th of July, but being in Honduras there weren't a whole lot activities other than the normal routine of life going on here. We had our computer classes in the afternoon and then visited with several people in town.
We had dinner at a neighbors house. There is a couple about the same age as us and they had invited us over for dinner.
I joked with people that in the middle of the night I would be running through the street in my underwear yelling "Happy 4th of July and lighting off fireworks". They thought that would be pretty entertaining.
Day 249 - Friday, July 5, 2002
Jennifer was really sick again today with diarrhea, vomiting and a fever. I canceled all our activities for the day and stayed home to take care of her. At 5pm Sandra, our Spanish tutor, came by and told me to go get her mom (the town nurse). She prescribed some aspirin to bring down Jen's fever and a pill to supposedly kill the possible bacterial infection in her stomach. After she left Ruth, Sandra's sister, stopped by to visit as she had hear that Jennifer was ill. She came with her husband and stayed while I fetched her mom again to retake Jennifer's temperature. The aspirin seemed to help and her temp went down. We'll see how she feels in the morning. If she has not improved we will have to get someone to drive us to the hospital in Choluteca.
Day 250- Saturday, July 06, 2002
Jennifer was still pretty sick today and is bed ridden. I spent the day taking care of her every need. I made her lots of rehydration solution and sat with her in bed for a better part of the day reading.
Day 251 - Sunday, July 07, 2002
Jen was feeling better today. We went to a going away party for Arlee, the volunteer from the states working in our library here in Concepción. I read most of the afternoon and just hung out at home and took it easy.
Day 252 - Monday, July 08, 2002
Since Matt had come to Concepción to collect Arlee and drive him back to Teguz we took advantage of his being here and caught a ride to Choluteca.
For lunch we had a big calzone at the pizza parlor in Choluteca. It wasn't as good as they have been before and a lot bigger than we remembered. We made trip to the post office, where we had gotten a package from our friend Giovanna. She sent us a cool French coffee press to make our morning coffee in. She also sent a cool coffee mug and fresh almonds that we plan on toasting and using in our cereal.
We also were able to do email and some grocery shopping.
Day 253 - Tuesday, July 09, 2002
We had Spanish class with Sandra today. We kept them short as we are still not feeling 100%. We also had our classes in the high school.
Day 254 - Wednesday, July 10, 2002
We worked on our Spanish tapes, the marriage book, and had computer classes.
I'm still feeling kind of sick and not quiet sure what it is. If it doesn't improve tomorrow we are going to have to go to the doctor.
Day 255 - Thursday, July 11, 2002
We had Spanish classes with Saundra today and are still feeling sick so tomorrow we are going to Choluteca and go to the hospital for some tests to see what kind of little fun things we have living in our stomachs.
Day 256 - Friday, July 12, 2022
Today is our 26 Month-a-versary. We celebrated by going to Choluteca and getting matching fecal samples tested for parasites and amebas. We spent the morning in the hallway of the doctors office waiting to be seen. It only took 3 hours to be seen. We sat on the wrong side of the line and were the last ones to get put on the list, even though we were one of the first ones there. I have amebas and Jennifer appears to have some kind of virus or parasite that didn't turn up in the testing. We have some happy pills that are supposed to set us right and are pretty happy about that prospect.
For lunch we had a thin crust pizza at the local pizza place with veggies. It was really good.
When we got home Jennifer made us a box mix of biscuits and gravy that she brought back with her from her medical evacuation to the U.S. It was super good and had all the ingredients right there in the box.
The teachers are on strike again today. Which made it a little easier for us to cancel classes and go to Choluteca to see the doctor. The kids didn't really want to have class and they don't perform too well when computer classes are the only thing they have to show up for.
Day 257 - Saturday, July 13, 2002
I hiked to the top of the mountain today! I left at 6 a.m. and went to the crest of El Peñon the hike was about 2 1/2 hours uphill. Along the way I chatted with several people, most all of which were farmers or kids. I had traveled to El Peñon a few months ago to take photos of the sunset. I hadn't realized at the time that on the other side of the mountain is not a view of the ocean as I had expected, but just another equally large mountain with an equally large valley. During that trip I met a few kids who served as my guides and attempted to bring me to the other side of the mountain. I took several photos of them and returned on this trip not only in search of the peak, but also to deliver some photos to people who have no photos of their families and aside from the ones I give them probably won't ever have any.
The first house I came to I spoke to the mother and father who looked at me leery as I asked where their son was. They eyed me kind of suspiciously when I produced 2 professional grade photos of their son and a their son with 3 other boys. I told them thank you and asked them I could find the other boys in the photos. They directed me further up the mountain and were smiling while I left.
The next mother was very happy with the photos and I honestly think she wasn't quiet sure what to make of it. Her son from the photo was home and she sent him with me to go find his brother who was the father of the other two boys in the photos. I met their father who was hard at work building a fence to keep his pigs and donkeys from escaping. The fence was a 4 foot high stone fence that was about 2 feet wide and made from rocks they were pulling out of the side of the mountain. It looked like work someone would only do if they were being paid a very large sum of money or if they were subjected to a life of slave labor. It did not look fun. Some of the rocks they were hefting looked to weigh close to 200 lbs. Two of the boys in the photos were his sons. I gave him several photos and the photo jacket to keep them in. I asked him for directions to the top of the mountain and he directed one of his boys to go with me and guide me up and back down. Which I am pretty happy about since the last leg (which was the little bump below the arrow) was about 300' straight uphill and I would have never guessed that there was a trail there. The path that went to the top had been sheered off during Hurricane Mitch when the trail, which was badly deforested by the local people, washed down into the corn fields below.
My guides showing no signs of being winded (oh, to be young again) pushed on as I took a break every 100 paces or so. The trail snaked back and forth through a heavily wooded area to the top. Once at the top I could see well into Nicaragua. Our town was nothing but a fleck of little white dots in the midst of enormous green and
Day 258 - Sunday, July 14, 2002
We relaxed at home today. I'm still recovering from the miniwar being waged in my stomach. I don't know if it is the medicine or something else, but everything I drink has a strange taste to it. We even went out and bought purified water and it tastes funny too. I'm looking forward to being healthy again. After almost 2 weeks of mild to severe stomach pains, lack of energy, and unpredictable bowel movements I'm ready for some normalcy.
I'm working on catching up on the journal while Jennifer is doing "Creative Memories". She has done around 60 pages done so far. They look great and I can't wait to be old (well actually I can) and look at the books she has made. They are very nice.
Day 259 - Monday, July 15, 2002
We had classes this morning. They went pretty well. We are wrapping up the final days of classes. I'm still not feeling 100% and am wondering if I am having a relapse of mono or something. In the evening Jennifer and I worked on our Spanish tape and read our marriage book.
Day 260 - Tuesday, July 16, 2002s
We had class this morning. Things went pretty well. Jen's mom called in the morning and they are still trying to decide if Jennifer's sister is going to come visit us in August. We were really looking forward to having her as a visitor for a month, but they are not sure if the timing will be good. In the evening I played soccer with the neighbor kids on our patio. I played in my bare feet and sprained my big right toe. One of the kids that showed up to play was wearing cleats and was on the other team. When I got between him and the ball he would kick me in the shins. It didn't hurt much as he was just a little kid, but I'm going to have some bruises.
Jen helped in the early afternoon at a local soup kitchen run out of the Baptist church; hey feed about 60 kids a day. She said that she is working on building enough of a relationship with the women who prepare the food to talk to them about some of the sanitary issues she saw. Apparently the kitchen was rather dirty and the manner in which they prepared the food and passed it out was not very sanitary.
Day 261 - Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Had class today everything went well. We had a test on how to format a document. All of the kids did exceptionally well. This was the task which I didn't think they would ever get when we first started. Our first few classes it took them a class period and a half to change the formatting on 9 different items. Now some of them can do it in 4-5 minutes. I'm very proud of them.
In the afternoon I read some and played soccer with the neighbor. Marlin from the high school came by with a few other people who helped take out her braids, while I made egg salad sandwiches for dinner.
Day 262 - Thursday, July 18, 2002
We went to San Marco de Colon today to a fair in which our high school was playing soccer against two other teams. We also visited Pedro (another volunteer) and checked our email at the local boy scout leaders house. Unfortunately our soccer team lost both games, didn't score any points and had 8 goals scored on them between the two other teams. This didn't diminish the exuberance showed by the kids on the bus we were riding on. They were wild right up until we pulled into Concepción de Maria 5 hours after we left San Marco.
Pedro is a Puerto Rican pediatrician who joined the Peace Corps after retiring from the medical practice. He is in San Marco de Colon doing development in public health. On the day that we visited he had two local radio shows scheduled where people call in and he answers questions about their sicknesses and health questions.
It was a fun day despite the 10 hour round trip ride we spent on the bus with loud rambunctious kids.
Day 263 - Friday, July 19, 2002
We had classes this morning despite the fact that the teachers were on strike again. I told the kids from now on we have class with or with out the rest of the school. Classes went pretty well and today we spent time reading the emails that we have sent back and forth between the kids and our "e-pen pals" in the U.S.
In the evening Jennifer and I read more of our marriage book and practiced our Spanish with the cassette tapes.
Day 264 - Saturday, July 20, 2002
Jen and I went for a walk this morning. I have been running in the morning and she wanted to go out with me so we went on a walk. It was about half the distance I usually go since it is her first time walking anywhere for any length of time since her knee surgery.
In the afternoon she organized art supplies for distribution to the kindergarten teacher in El Peñon and I worked on getting caught up on my journal. It is amazing how far behind I can fall by not being diligent in writing or at least taking notes on each day.
Day 265 - Sunday, July 21, 2002
We went to church this morning. I truly miss having mass each week. The speaker of the word is ok in that it is structured similar to a mass, but it is just not the same.
We went to the Mayorga's farm for an afternoon BBQ. It was very fun. Matt came to visit and brought a friend (she's the one of the right in this photo) from high school. We had grilled chicken, played dominos, and even roasted marshmallows which the Mayorgas had seen done on TV. but never actually tried. It was a lot of fun and they were pretty excited about learned how to roast marshmallows over a fire.
In the evening Matt, Nancy, Jennifer and I played scrabble, had fresh popped pop corn, and ice tea. It was a really nice day.
Day 266 - Monday, July 22, 2002
We went for a walk this morning. For computer classes we had our final test on computer knowledge and creating an excel spreadsheet. The kids did really well and I was so impressed with their test results. The written part of the exam was a repeat of an earlier test they all had failed. This time around they all passed with 80% or higher.
Jennifer did a customer service talk at the cooperative in the afternoon and she said it went really well. They want her to come back over the next four weeks and do more talks on similar topics.
In the evening I had a mini soccer game with the neighbor kids. We had dinner and then invited the kids over to play dominos with us.
Day 267 - Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Today was make up day for computer tests and free day for those students who had completed their work already. I spent the class time printing up the certificates for tomorrows graduation ceremony and finalized the grades for the class.
Jennifer had an afternoon activity at the library making mini-books with kids.
Day 268 - Wednesday, July 24, 2002
We graduated our first class of computer students today. After 5 months and about 60 hours of class time Instituto Rafael Heliodoro Valle now has 15 students who are certified to use the basic functions of a computer and use Microsoft Word and Excel. This has been a very exciting and interesting experience in that most of the time I didn't think they were listening or understanding what I was telling them. There were many days I was just ready to quit because there didn't seem to be any progress made in their comprehension of what we were doing. In the end however they were very attune to what were doing and all but one student scored 80% or higher on the final exams. I was thrilled by this as we did exercises that were impossible for them to do 3 months ago with out me telling them exactly step by step what to do.
For the graduation ceremony we had words from the director of the school, one of the students, the sub-director (who talked about the importance of patriotism and had the kids swear an oath to the flag), and me. The director said how proud she was of the students, the students thanked Jennifer and I for teaching them, and I talked about how proud I was of the students and how they now have the basics they need to go on to do pretty much anything they would like with there lives. We then passed out certificates, which from Peace Corps are apparently pretty valuable here, watched a video slide show we put together with photos of the kids, our field trip to San Marco de Colon, and the teachers; and finished off with cake and sodas.
Over all it was an excellent experience. Jen and I even got a present from the kids. A big green ceramic wall hanging that we are going to put in our living room or patio when we get back to the states. This experience has made it worth being her.
Day 269 - Thursday, July 25, 2002
We traveled to Tegucigalpa today as I have a Volunteer Advocacy Council meeting on Friday. Hopefully we will be able to find somewhere to plug into the internet and update out web site and get our email.
After a 6 hour bus ride we arrived in Tegucigalpa around 12:30 and headed to the Peace Corps Office. We met up with several of our friends and went out for gyros at a local Greek restaurant. We then took care of some minor business in the Peace Corps office and went through the tedious task of looking for a room for the night. In the past we have stayed in a local 4 star hotel for about ($60.00 no taxes) a night for an apartment and then divided that among 5-6 people. This worked out well as it was just a little more expensive than the local hotel that most volunteers stay at. In the past volunteers have been robbed right out in front of the cheaper hotel as it is in a bad area, people have gotten lice and other "bed" related bugs from the sometimes unwashed bedding, and the walk to get there is dangerous as it is in a nasty part of town. The local 4 star hotel has decided that it had to raise their prices. The accommodation here are not too fancy and I wouldn't pay more than $40 or maybe $50 for a room like this in the states. The current cost with 4 people is $110.00. So much for the great deal with in a third world country. Due to a new government administration we have pay the local sales taxes now also which is about 16% (12% normal tax, 4% tourist tax). After the secretary at the Peace Corps office argued for 15 minutes with the 4 star hotel people about a supposed deal they had worked out which in the end was one person can have one room for $28.00, we sent Jennifer and Michelle to go sweet talk any male front desk staff they could find into giving them a deal. They got the room for $60.00 + tax. Which worked out ok divided between 6 people.
The only draw back was that of the 6 of us Jen and I are married, there is another married couple and a single male and female volunteer. So Jen and I didn't get to share a bed. They also removed the mattress from the roll out couch so me and the single male volunteer had to sleep on the floor, which wasn't too bad as it was carpeted and we have bedding and pillow. All I need is a good pillow and something to cover up with and I can sleep almost anywhere.
For dinner we went out to Ruby Tuesdays. Jennifer and I split a hamburger and we talked about some of the adventures we have been having as volunteers. Today was our 1st anniversary for being in country.
Day 270 - Friday, July 26, 2002
I went to a VAC meeting today. VAC is the Volunteer Advocacy Council. We work as representatives to the volunteers and handles policy issues and concerns than arise between volunteers and the administration. The meeting was held the new country directors house, which was nice as we got a free lunch out of the deal.
Jen went to the mall with a couple of other volunteers for the afternoon. In the evening we went to Matt's house where we had a BBQ. We had BBQ'ed beef ribs and chicken breast. We slept in the living room on cushions from the couch pushed together.
Day 271 - Saturday, July 27, 2002
We left early in the morning for Tela this morning. Tela is on the north coast of Honduras. Once in town we checked into a hotel and went exploring in town. The hotel was called "Hotel Sherwood" we stayed on the third floor in a newly remodeled room. It was nice to be such a nice room, but kind of annoying as other rooms on the floor were still being worked on so there was a lot of construction materials to deal with.
The room was very nice. It was mostly all wood and with a TV, a queen sized bed, a brand new air conditioner, and a nice view of the ocean. For lunch we had baleadas (refried beans in a flour tortilla) at a local restaurant. We also went to a local travel agency and signed up for a kayak tour of the mangrove river system. We then took a nap to try to recover from the long trip up there (4 hours), and having to sleep on a floor the night before.
For dinner we went to a restaurant on the only hill in Tela. The view was beautiful and the food excellent. Jennifer and I shared a dish of garlic spaghetti which was spaghetti noodles with shrimp, light seasoning and olive oil.
Day 272 - Sunday, July 28, 2002
Went to mass in Tela at the local Catholic Church. The church was not the normal traditional Honduran Church. Inside there were stained glass windows that were not really stained glass, but painted glass.
After Mass we met Matt and Nancy at a local restaurant that served really good baleadas. I had two with eggs and avocado. We then went to the tour office where we met our guide for the day. We drove for a half hour and got out on the edge of a shallow river where we got into Kayaks and paddled for a few hours up river and into the mangroves. Unfortunately we didn't see any cool animals and are hoping to return and try another tour. While in the mangroves we got stuck in a very narrow inlet that ended abruptly. We were going to get out and turn our Kayaks around in the knee deep water, but the guide said there were too many deadly snakes in the water and area to be able to do it safely.
After the kayaking we went to a local Garifuna village where we had a lunch of fresh broiled fish with plantain. It was very good and I could have eaten two! We spent a few hours swimming and enjoying the beautiful beach. We also spent some time taking photos of the people working at the small restaurant where we ate.
Day 273 - Monday, July 29, 2002
We got up early in the morning to catch the first bus to Ceba this morning. Once in Ceba we decided to go out to the island of Utila for a day and went to the port where the ferry boats leave. We caught a boat to Utila and once on the island we went to breakfast at a local restaurant where we ate in the presence of several guys who reminded me of pirates in the way that they spoke and looked. We then checked into a small hotel.
We then went to a local bicycle shop and rented a couple of bicycles to tour the island. We picked up some snorkeling equipment and went to check out some of the beaches. We went to the two extreme ends of the island and checked out the beaches and the snorkeling. In the midst of this we managed to stop at a local ice cream ship and get a couple of Ice cream cones.
For dinner we went to a restaurant called "The Jade Seahorse" where we had red snapper with coconut sauce and tamarindo sauce.
After dinner we returned to the ice cream parlor where we had a brownie fudge Sunday with real whipped cream and returned to our room at the hotel. While we were getting ready for bed I noticed an electrical storm brewing off the coast. It appeared that there was a thunderstorm back on the main land or out at sea so I set up to take some photos. After 40 minutes of trying to capture the lightning storm I came up with only 2 decent photos and missed out on several others.
Day 274 - Tuesday, July 30, 2002
For breakfast we headed to the islands famous Thompson's bakery, where I had a breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee. After breakfast we went for a walk into the inner part of the island and then returned to Thompson's bakery where we bought cinnamon rolls that had just come out of the oven. They were very very good!
We then went to check out our hotel and headed to the docks to wait for our boat back to Ceba. Once in Ceba we went to Pizza Hut for lunch and went to the local telephone company to try to reach some friends that we know who live in Ceba. We were not able to reach our friends so we continued on by bus to San Pedro Sula where we checked into the International Palace where we stayed for the night.
Due to the fact the San Pedro Sula is not a very safe place we stayed in our room as it was just getting dark when we arrived.
Day 275 - Wednesday, July 31, 2002
We got up early in the morning and took a bus to Santa Barbara where we met up with David and Jennifer hard at work at municipality of Santa Barbara in Municipal Development.
We got a tour of the municipal office and learned about the different project they were working on.
In the evening we went to a soccer game that David was playing in and afterwards we went to dinner in the central park where there is a guy that sells really good hamburgers from a small cart.
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