Hey everyone,
So the other day I posted a blog about the hospital visits. I was not trying to freak anyone out. That actually happened 2 weeks ago, but do to my lack of computer knowledge, I thought that I posted the blog correctly, but I was obviously wrong. So anyone I figured it out yesterday and did the copy and past bit!
So life is great. Last weekened I went to Orocunia, Choluteca, which is in the southern part of Honduras. I went to visit a volunteer that has been there for about 6 months. It was good to be able to see what it is like to be a volunteer (right now I am still and aspirante). On Friday I was able to basically follow her around. She is in Youth Dev. and is currently working with a group that helps educate children with after school programs, on Friday the kids we doing a 2 part lecture with a man from unicef where they were able to learn more about public speaking, interviews, and they had and HIV/AIDS lecture. I had a lot of fun. The kids even did a live broadcast from the local radio station. That night we went into the town of Choluteca and got a few hotel rooms. We met up with other volunteers in the area and aspirantes. It was a lot of fun, I even learned a few new dance moves (at least I tried)... I can´t spell them.. they are some sort of latin dances!!!
The rest of my time the last few weeks has been training, training, training, and did I say more training. Everyday I have spanish, followed my some other form of training such as technical. I am learning so much it is crazy. It is non stop around here. I can´t say anything but good things about my experience thus far. It has been so wonderful. Every day I am exhausted after training but at the same time wouldn´t change a thing. I love all of the other trainees and enjoy getting to know everyone a bit better.
Tomorrow we are all parting ways, well atleast we are dividing by projects. The health group will be traveling to La Paz, La Paz for 5 weeks. This part of training is considered field base training (FBT). This is considered the time when we really get serious about our projects and get more hands on experience. I am looking forward to this opportunity but at the same times have a few reservations. First off, my spanish needs alot more work, the group of 51 will soon be 20 (that how many will be with me), I am going to have to start giving presentations for people in spanish, and I have to leave Santa Lucia which I have grown to really like. In saying all of that, I am excited and know that it is going to be a great time.
I have posted a like on the side to web photos, this is the only way I have figured out to post pictures. I hope you enjoy them all.
Love you and miss you all..
Adios from Honduras
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Hospitals and More Hospitals
I am sorry that it has been so long since I last updated. Alot has been going on. Everyday I am at the training center from 7:30 am to at least 4:30 pm. Usually in the morning I have language training for up to 6 hours and than project training. It makes for along day.
I am not really sure what to tell everyone, because everything happens so quickly. So if anyone has any specific question, feel free to ask me.
Yesterday has been probably the most eventful day for me yet. The health project had a field trip into the capital, Tegucigalpa. We went to the oldest hospital in the Country. We met we the director and she gave a lecture explaining the health programs in the country. It was very interesting. After the lecture we were given a tour of the hospital and than taken to the maternity ward. It is so different than in the U.S. I can not even begin to explain. A small group of us were actually privelaged enough to be able to watch a live birth. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life! I was ten feet from the woman. I felt very bad that I was there, but did not want to miss the oppurtunity. It is not like in the States. Nothing is private. The labor part is basically a lonely process. The nurses are only at their side if necessary and during delivery. When the woman is ready to deliver they take her into an open room and it all happens within 2 mins. The woman here are not given the oppurtinity to have an epideral. It is all natural. So everyone be thankful that you have options. No one is allowed in during the delivery ( the husband, or family members). All in all it is a very lonely process. After birth the woman must remain there a minimum of 12 hours and no more than 24 hours. There are 20-25 women per room, so you can seen how not private the whole thing is.
After we returned from the hospital I began feeling pretty bad. My whole body started tingling and I had a really bad stomach ache. I was sweating pretty bad and expecting to get sick. They called the doctor for me and ended up driving me back to Teguc to a different hospital. It sucked. I was there all alone, and having language difficulties desctibing my problems. They put me on an IV and I had an ultra sound and x-rays of the abdomen. The doctor was trying to rule out apendicitis (spell check). My test came back normal and the way I understand it, there was probably a reaction to one of the vacines I have received along with the basic stomach problems that go along with being in a foreign country. They wanted me to stay the night but I begged to go back home, and in the end I won!! I got back home around 7:30- 8 pm. Everything is ok now. I am feeling so much better and don´t want anyone to worry. They took very good care of me.
I am going to try and post some pictures from here, if I can figure it out, so I hope it works. One is of me and Molly ( my kentucky buddy) at the airport on the first attempt to come here, some are of people in my group at lunch when they did not know, and the other 2 are of the view from my house. Everyone enjoy.
Miss you bunches. And yes Andrea, to answer your question one of the sons is a hottie!!
I am not really sure what to tell everyone, because everything happens so quickly. So if anyone has any specific question, feel free to ask me.
Yesterday has been probably the most eventful day for me yet. The health project had a field trip into the capital, Tegucigalpa. We went to the oldest hospital in the Country. We met we the director and she gave a lecture explaining the health programs in the country. It was very interesting. After the lecture we were given a tour of the hospital and than taken to the maternity ward. It is so different than in the U.S. I can not even begin to explain. A small group of us were actually privelaged enough to be able to watch a live birth. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life! I was ten feet from the woman. I felt very bad that I was there, but did not want to miss the oppurtunity. It is not like in the States. Nothing is private. The labor part is basically a lonely process. The nurses are only at their side if necessary and during delivery. When the woman is ready to deliver they take her into an open room and it all happens within 2 mins. The woman here are not given the oppurtinity to have an epideral. It is all natural. So everyone be thankful that you have options. No one is allowed in during the delivery ( the husband, or family members). All in all it is a very lonely process. After birth the woman must remain there a minimum of 12 hours and no more than 24 hours. There are 20-25 women per room, so you can seen how not private the whole thing is.
After we returned from the hospital I began feeling pretty bad. My whole body started tingling and I had a really bad stomach ache. I was sweating pretty bad and expecting to get sick. They called the doctor for me and ended up driving me back to Teguc to a different hospital. It sucked. I was there all alone, and having language difficulties desctibing my problems. They put me on an IV and I had an ultra sound and x-rays of the abdomen. The doctor was trying to rule out apendicitis (spell check). My test came back normal and the way I understand it, there was probably a reaction to one of the vacines I have received along with the basic stomach problems that go along with being in a foreign country. They wanted me to stay the night but I begged to go back home, and in the end I won!! I got back home around 7:30- 8 pm. Everything is ok now. I am feeling so much better and don´t want anyone to worry. They took very good care of me.
I am going to try and post some pictures from here, if I can figure it out, so I hope it works. One is of me and Molly ( my kentucky buddy) at the airport on the first attempt to come here, some are of people in my group at lunch when they did not know, and the other 2 are of the view from my house. Everyone enjoy.
Miss you bunches. And yes Andrea, to answer your question one of the sons is a hottie!!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Finally in Honduras!!!
Hey everyone, I am sorry that it has taken me so long to update my website. It has been fairly hectic the last week. On Saturday I arrived in Honduras with 25 other volunteers, the remaining 25 flew in the following day. After the flight and going through customs we finally left the airport in San Pedro Sula for Santa Lucia; the bus ride took 4 hours. Around 8pm we finally arrived in our new home for atleast the next 4 weeks. Our host mothers were waiting outside in the rain for us. Up until that point I was completely fine and honestly no nervous or homesick at all, but all of a sudden it hit me what was happening. It felt as though I had just found out that I was adopted and now I was going to meet my birth mother for the first time 23 years later. It was an extremely scary thing for me, but I was strong and did not shed a tear!!
My host family is super nice. I live with an older couple and 3 of their childeren and 3 grandchildren. In the house is one daughter, Odina and she is 35 and works for in the local municipal building; and they have 2 sons. One name Hugo and he is 29 and is head of the total education department in Santa Lucia, and finally there is Felipe and he is 24 and attends law school in Tegucigalpa. Odina has 3 children and I can not begin to spell their names!! Two boys 15 and 14 and one daughter that is 12. Everyone has been very nice and helpful. I live in a small bedroom that is not attached to the rest of the house. I have a bed, desk and a few shelves. It is clean and that is the most important part. I use a bathroom that is also not attached, not so much an outhouse because it is made of concrete or cinder block. I have to take bucket showers because my family does not have running water. They only have a pilla which is a place to store water that comes every 8 days in the city. I use that water to bath and flush the toliet. Right now everything is working out well for me. On saturday I get to learn how to wash my clothes by hand, it will prolly take all day because I have alot of dirty clothes at this point.
Training has barely begun. Because we did not all arrive until Sunday, they are trying to catch us up on the days we were supposed to already have. Pretty much every other day we get vaccinations. I think in total there is a possibility of getting 13, that depends on what you had before you got here. I need at least 10 I believe, but not positive on that one. Sunday I recieved the polio shot, Tuesday I had the first rabies shot and typhoid and tomorrow I get the first for hep a and b. Spanish classes thus far are 5-6 hours every day of training, plus homework. The rest of our time thus far has been based on gettting to understand the culture, safety and security, and lectures about what to expect.
Everything is great and I do not think I could be much happier. Thanks for all of your emails. I truly do appreciate them. And mom, why did you not call yesterday, I gave dad the house number. If you get this it is best to call between 8-9 pm (ohio time). I can only talk for 30 minutes, that is a rule, and once a week. Love you all!!
Oh yeah, the family also has a pet squirrel named Julisa!!!!
My host family is super nice. I live with an older couple and 3 of their childeren and 3 grandchildren. In the house is one daughter, Odina and she is 35 and works for in the local municipal building; and they have 2 sons. One name Hugo and he is 29 and is head of the total education department in Santa Lucia, and finally there is Felipe and he is 24 and attends law school in Tegucigalpa. Odina has 3 children and I can not begin to spell their names!! Two boys 15 and 14 and one daughter that is 12. Everyone has been very nice and helpful. I live in a small bedroom that is not attached to the rest of the house. I have a bed, desk and a few shelves. It is clean and that is the most important part. I use a bathroom that is also not attached, not so much an outhouse because it is made of concrete or cinder block. I have to take bucket showers because my family does not have running water. They only have a pilla which is a place to store water that comes every 8 days in the city. I use that water to bath and flush the toliet. Right now everything is working out well for me. On saturday I get to learn how to wash my clothes by hand, it will prolly take all day because I have alot of dirty clothes at this point.
Training has barely begun. Because we did not all arrive until Sunday, they are trying to catch us up on the days we were supposed to already have. Pretty much every other day we get vaccinations. I think in total there is a possibility of getting 13, that depends on what you had before you got here. I need at least 10 I believe, but not positive on that one. Sunday I recieved the polio shot, Tuesday I had the first rabies shot and typhoid and tomorrow I get the first for hep a and b. Spanish classes thus far are 5-6 hours every day of training, plus homework. The rest of our time thus far has been based on gettting to understand the culture, safety and security, and lectures about what to expect.
Everything is great and I do not think I could be much happier. Thanks for all of your emails. I truly do appreciate them. And mom, why did you not call yesterday, I gave dad the house number. If you get this it is best to call between 8-9 pm (ohio time). I can only talk for 30 minutes, that is a rule, and once a week. Love you all!!
Oh yeah, the family also has a pet squirrel named Julisa!!!!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Almost There
After spending four hours in the airport on Wednesday we ended up back at the hotel and yesterday afternoon found out that we will be splitting up into 3 groups. Two groups fly out on Saturday morning and one group on Sunday morning. We have switched airlines and will redirected through Atlanta instead of Miami. So far the extra time in the states, although cold, has been good because it is giving a lot of us a chance to get to know each other better. I am looking forward to finally arriving in Honduras and getting the ball rolling. I fly out at 7 am on Saturday morning and arrive in country at 1:45 central time. Hope everyon is well and enjoying the snow!!! ( Julie, go sledding for me!)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
D.C. might be longer than expected!
So here I am, sitting in my hotel room in D.C. on my roommates computer waiting to find out what happens next... Maybe I should back up and explain the situation up till now.
On Monday I arrived in D.C. and met 50 other soon to be Peace Corps Volunteers. We had to go through the registration process and than all gathered in a conference room to meet one another for the first time. Let me tell you, up until this point my emotions were all over the place. Most of you know that the majority of my anxieties stemmed from meeting all the other trainees. That issue was shortly put to rest. Everyone has been completely amazing, and of course I expected everyone to be open, and excited, but it has been more than that; everyone is genuinely nice and so easy going. I have been placed with an extrodinary group.. there are even parts of me that question my place among this group because they are all so accomplished and well educated individuals. In saying all of that I feel very honored to be given this opportunity and I plan to run with it!!!
On Tuesday we had pre service training all day starting at 8:30 to 6. It consisted of team building excercises, cross-cultural information, open forums for questions, and a lot of time to get to know one another. I have decided that I am horrible at remembering peoples names. I have spent alot of my time asking people what their names are, only to find out I already had that exact conversation only 20 minutes earlier with them. Last night I went out with 5 other people to a concert featuring a band named 'Apples and Stereo' (I think that is their name). It was alot of fun, and gave me the opportunity to get to know people that up until that point I had not had too much interaction with. We got back to the hotel between 11:30 and 12 and I went straight to my room for a nice hot shower. After that I spent alot of time packing my stuff, while trying to be super quiet because my roommate was asleep. I finished everything at 1 am and decided that a power nap was in order. I laid down and at 1:30 we recieved a wake-up call. At 2:00 the whole group checked out of the hotel and at 3:30 am left for the airport. Once at the airport we discovered that our flight was cancelled and we proceeded to wait for 4 hours before we were able to head back to the hotel. During my time at the airport I learned how to play hearts and had a lot of fun, considering that I had been awake since 7:30 the previous morning. Some people sat and talked, while others decided to utilize the time and get as much sleep as possible. All in all the group was really patient and willing to go with the flow. We got back to the hotel around 8:30 and many went straight to bed, I went to the hotel restaurant and ordered breakfast. After breakfast I went to bed for 2 hours. Right now I am just basically running on fumes and hoping that I am able to get a good 8 hours of sleep soon. I guess I will just have to wait and see!
At 3:00pm we are meeting to discuss the flight situation. As of right now the outlook is not so good for us arriving in Honduras tomorrow, so D.C. remains the only part of training that I have experienced.
Hopefully I will be able to update everyone as soon as I find out what is going on. I love you all and miss you very much.
On Monday I arrived in D.C. and met 50 other soon to be Peace Corps Volunteers. We had to go through the registration process and than all gathered in a conference room to meet one another for the first time. Let me tell you, up until this point my emotions were all over the place. Most of you know that the majority of my anxieties stemmed from meeting all the other trainees. That issue was shortly put to rest. Everyone has been completely amazing, and of course I expected everyone to be open, and excited, but it has been more than that; everyone is genuinely nice and so easy going. I have been placed with an extrodinary group.. there are even parts of me that question my place among this group because they are all so accomplished and well educated individuals. In saying all of that I feel very honored to be given this opportunity and I plan to run with it!!!
On Tuesday we had pre service training all day starting at 8:30 to 6. It consisted of team building excercises, cross-cultural information, open forums for questions, and a lot of time to get to know one another. I have decided that I am horrible at remembering peoples names. I have spent alot of my time asking people what their names are, only to find out I already had that exact conversation only 20 minutes earlier with them. Last night I went out with 5 other people to a concert featuring a band named 'Apples and Stereo' (I think that is their name). It was alot of fun, and gave me the opportunity to get to know people that up until that point I had not had too much interaction with. We got back to the hotel between 11:30 and 12 and I went straight to my room for a nice hot shower. After that I spent alot of time packing my stuff, while trying to be super quiet because my roommate was asleep. I finished everything at 1 am and decided that a power nap was in order. I laid down and at 1:30 we recieved a wake-up call. At 2:00 the whole group checked out of the hotel and at 3:30 am left for the airport. Once at the airport we discovered that our flight was cancelled and we proceeded to wait for 4 hours before we were able to head back to the hotel. During my time at the airport I learned how to play hearts and had a lot of fun, considering that I had been awake since 7:30 the previous morning. Some people sat and talked, while others decided to utilize the time and get as much sleep as possible. All in all the group was really patient and willing to go with the flow. We got back to the hotel around 8:30 and many went straight to bed, I went to the hotel restaurant and ordered breakfast. After breakfast I went to bed for 2 hours. Right now I am just basically running on fumes and hoping that I am able to get a good 8 hours of sleep soon. I guess I will just have to wait and see!
At 3:00pm we are meeting to discuss the flight situation. As of right now the outlook is not so good for us arriving in Honduras tomorrow, so D.C. remains the only part of training that I have experienced.
Hopefully I will be able to update everyone as soon as I find out what is going on. I love you all and miss you very much.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The count down.....
I started this site as a way to stay connected with everyone in the states while I'm in Honduras over the next 2 years. I am down to 3 weeks until I leave and I can't begin to explain what I am thinking at this point. I am definately looking forward to the challenges that I am about to face and excited to see how a new culture and location impact my life. Over the next few years I plan on updating this site as one of the primary ways of staying in contact with most of you. I am sure that individual emails will be few and ar between from me, as I expect I will not have alot of down time, at least in the beginning. I encourage everyone to post comments on the site and it will be a great way to make sure and answer any questions that anyone might have. Hopefully I will be able to download pictures, that is if I am able to figure it out!
So far I am still not completely positive what I will be doing. Alot of it has to do with the needs of the village that I am placed in after training. My official title is a Health HIV/AIDS Educator. I fly from Columbus on Feb 12, 2007 to Washington D.C., while in D.C. I will meet all of the other volunteers that will be in my training group. We will stay in D.C. until Feb 14, 2007 for Orientation. On the 14th we fly from D.C. to Miami and from there onto Honduras. The flight plan on the 14th does not appear to be a fun one. AT 2:30 am everyone must be checked out of the hotel, at 3:30 am the bus leaves for the airport, at 6:05 am we fly on American Airlines to Miami, from there we have an hour and half layover and at 11:20 am we depart for Tegucigalpa, HN!!! At 12:40 pm central time we arrive in Honduras!!!
At this point all there is for me to do is spend alot of time with friends and family, pack, pack, pack, and wait...
Hopefully I will be good about updating this site. Check it regularly if you are interested in what is going on with me!
So far I am still not completely positive what I will be doing. Alot of it has to do with the needs of the village that I am placed in after training. My official title is a Health HIV/AIDS Educator. I fly from Columbus on Feb 12, 2007 to Washington D.C., while in D.C. I will meet all of the other volunteers that will be in my training group. We will stay in D.C. until Feb 14, 2007 for Orientation. On the 14th we fly from D.C. to Miami and from there onto Honduras. The flight plan on the 14th does not appear to be a fun one. AT 2:30 am everyone must be checked out of the hotel, at 3:30 am the bus leaves for the airport, at 6:05 am we fly on American Airlines to Miami, from there we have an hour and half layover and at 11:20 am we depart for Tegucigalpa, HN!!! At 12:40 pm central time we arrive in Honduras!!!
At this point all there is for me to do is spend alot of time with friends and family, pack, pack, pack, and wait...
Hopefully I will be good about updating this site. Check it regularly if you are interested in what is going on with me!
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