From PUEBLO NUEVO!

It seems my posts are few and far between these days. It's definately not because theres a lack of activity here in my corner of the world in fact I've been quite busy! So my little town is nestled in between lush green mountains and is full of palm trees, grasshoppers larger than the palm of your hand and just plain nice people. Adjusting has been difficult but not because of the town but simply because being dropped off in a new place all alone in a foreign country to start a new life and figure out how to start working is no simple feat. One of those "geez it sure seemed easier when I was looking at that broshure" moments. I find myself being challanged in ways never imagined and as difficult as it can get I know its the best thing for me. I live in a very nice home here with my host mom and her 7 year old son. I have a mini-fridge in my room and I'm not gonna lie I get to watch ESPN2 in english on a LARGE flat screen tv... not exactly roughing it. I have running water for the first time and I swear I will never take for granted washing my hair with two hands ever again! It feels great. I've met pretty much the entire town which isnt a ridiculous amount of people but at the moment, after one month of living here exactly, I think I know about 12 names! Its not as easy as it seems to learn everyones name. Ive had a very warm welcome here.... and a lot people just kinda stare at me and I know that they're thinking, "What the heck is this gringo doing here in Pueblo Nuevo".... I know that because sometimes I think the exact same thing! Work is good but you have to pretty much self motivate and be creative all the time to get things going and sometimes when the combo isnt right I find myself doing nothing at all really... which is okay... poco a poco.... little by little. So we've had a ridiculous amount of earthquakes lately... one was 7.1 at 2:30am! I had earplugs in (only way i can sleep between roasters, dogs, the occasional mule, and loudly blaring reggeaton music) and I was sound asleep under my mosquito net. When it hit I jumped up and tried to rustle my way under my bed! Well... one thing you never learn during those emergency drills in elementary and high school is how to, in the middle of the night with earplugs, quickly get from under a mosquito net to under your bed.... let me tell you... not an easy feat. By the time I untangled myself from the damn net that almost pretty much choked me the earthquake was over! Its not the earthquake I was going to die from but rather the net that so rudely strangled me during a natural disaster! But all turned out okay in my town. other areas were in pretty bad shape but only a couple of people died and overall, considering the size, damage wasnt too bad. The mosquito net and I have a love hate relationship... I would pretty much die of malaria and dengue if it wasnt for the protection that I receive from underneath this great invention.... but at the same time it trips me up during a large earthquake and then there are the freakin ants! Why doesnt this thing keep all bugs out?! The ants are freaks of nature here! Some bite, some fly and some just swarm and follow eachother in tight lines... all of which find there way into my sleeping space and in my sleeping bag (which now has mosquito net rub marks and tears in the side)! I have an ant grave yard on the other half of my bed but it doesnt seem to detour those greedy buggers. Anyways... im pretty eatin up by mosquitos, ants and fleas (those are everywhere here) but you know... its building charater... at least thats what I keep telling myself. New subject: work. Okay so Ive been working a lot with a counterpart that works for the Red Cross Honduras. He's a community health promotor and we work in Pueblo Nuevo and about 15 aldeas (small rural communities up in the mountains). There's a program called AIN-C which stands for Integral Attention of Kids in the Community.... sounds weird translated but anyways what we do is work with mothers and their children that are two years of age or younger. We weigh the babies and graph and chart their weight and use a universal chart to determine whether or not their growth is sufficient or insufficient. If its insufficient we counsel the mothers and ask them if their child is sick (with what) and what they feed them (only breastfeeding or other) etc etc. We give nutrition advice and sometimes refer the child to the health center or hospital. A great deal of record keeping is done and mothers get to see the progression of their child's growth. This process is done in all the communities pretty much and is done once per month... lots of travelling! I have been leading some AIN-C reunions and also giving little talks on breastfeeding and nutrition etc etc. Its been great. Im also in the process of starting up a ping pong club of all things here in the jungle! There is a community member here who is an incredible ping pong player and loves the sport and he approached me about starting a club and I said that would be a great idea. A sustainable ping pong club as weird as it sounds is a great project here. There is NOTHING to do here after school and a place to play ping pong is a big deal. We've secured a great location and have cleaned the room and put in a table and he's teaching me how to play so that I can help teach a girls team! All in all ive been pretty busy and even if im not working im always learning spanish and getting to know the people and the community. I miss everyone at home and at times I get real home sick but all the support I get helps me keep going and not get too down. Thanks to all who have emailed, commented or communicated in one form or another! I love you guys and I hope your Seattle summer is wonderful! More to come from my adventures!

Tegucigalpa Visit

Im here in the capital city but only for a moment more. I arrived yesterday around 4pm in the afternoon and went staright to a skin specialist here in the city. I have had a strange rash develop on my right hand over the past 2 weeks and it was finally time to check it out and peace corps agreed. I found out the I have phytophotodermatitis.... whatever that is. I guess what happened is that at some point acid from a fruit such as mango or lime or lemon made its was onto to my knuckles on my right hand. The acid combined with exposure to direct sunlight equals starnge weird dark brown stains all over my hands. What's weird is that is has been growing but they said that can happen.... good news... my hand will be back to normal in 2 months. So in the meantime I will be looking kinda starnge but thats about it. Anyways I was able to get a trip to Teguz and I visited the mall here which was the largest and nicest mall ive been too and I went ans saw a movie in the movie theatre.... kind weird just walking around by myself but it was a nice change of pace because we dont get to much private time in training. Im off soon to La Paz to meet up with my companeros and continue training. Keep in touch!

In La Paz at Pizza Hut

Hello to all! Wow it has been a long time since ive been able to update my blog! Sorry for the long period of silence! Okay so update: im now living in La Paz, honduras which is about 2 hours west of Tegucigalpa the capital. I live with a very nnice family that I get along with swimmingly. Its hotter then heck out here (coming from a Washington winter thats no suprise) at about mid 90's every day and it DOES NOT RAIN! Rainy season starts in mid may which im super excited for. I'm learning a lot of Spanish and learning a lot about how to give health talks (charlas in spanish) to kids, adults and community leaders. Ive also started working with a group of orphans a couple times a week as they have been kicked out of their orphanage by the local government (their building is now going to a museum of Peace oddly enough) and so we are helping build their own orphanage of sorts. I find out my offial site on May 4th and then head back to Zarabanda training center on may 9th and then swear in as a volunteer and head to my offical site on may15th which is going to be a great day! All is well and ive been having a great experience and making some life-long friends. Im proud to say that the Northwest is well represeented here in my health group... there's a fellow seattlelite and a girl from Eugene whom ive gotten to become great friends with. Keep in touch and keep checking my blog whwn you have a chance... photos coming soon....

2 more nights in Las Canadas

I went to Marcala for 3days from Sunday through Wednesday and had the best time. I dont have much time to write now but we went to a waterfall, drive around the mountains till we hit El Salvador and we installed a chlorine system in a rural water tank. We had a great time and now im about to leave for La paz on Sunday. Gotta go but will write when i can!

New Happennings

All is well here in Zarabanda and Las Cañandas. I love everything about this place and have been waking up with purpose and energy. Im really enjoying my host family and have learned a few new card games. I found out that next wekend I leave with another trainee to a town in the department (like a state) of La Paz to visit a volunteer at her site for three days. I cant wait. Ive been exploring the new food of Honduras and have found it to be AMAZING. I get three large meals everyday but for some reason Ive been losing weight... not a lot but all i know is I feel very healthy and ALIVE! Mostly I eat beans, rice, chicken, carne asada and a lot of tortillas. Eggs are an everyday occurance and veggies and fruit are few and far between but lately ive been getting a banana shake of sorts every morning. My host mom blends bananas, sugar, milk and vanilla in a blender and I drink it with delight. Everyday there is something new and everynight I look forward to the next day. HIV/AIDS is an epademic here in Honduras and it seriously needs to addressed. Im proud to be working as a health promoter here because the chance I have to make a big difference is very high. People need help here and Im glad ive been given the opportunity to do something about this serious situation. Today I got a cell phone and I unfortunately wont be using it very much as calls are expensive on a Peace Corps salary but for those that would like to call every once and again it is free for me to except incoming calls. You can simply buy an international phone card (at any grocery store) and give me a call and I can say hi and keep in touch. To call me follow the directions on your international phone card and then you should dial : 011-504-95763387 . That should work. if not try it without the 011 as that might be something that is automatic through a phone card. Remeber that i am two hours ahead and go to sleep everynight at nine since I have to be up by 5:45. I love and miss you all and would love to read comments and emails from you. Much love from the mountains of Honduras, Lindsay

BUCKET BATHS AT 6AM

So the journey has begun and are we busy or what! I start my day at 5:45am and get up and take a bucket bath with cold water every morning which either gets hte heart going or stops it completly...i havent found out which one. Either way it sure clears out all of the spiderwebs and gets you ready for the day. A school bus picks up the volunteers (we are scattered all around) in my town (Las cañadas) at 7:05. I start training at 7:30 Mon-Fri and go through 4:30 and arrive home at around 5pm. Its a long day to say the least but im enjoying every minute of it. I live in small house with no running water but it is starting to grow on me and im enjoying my time there more and more. We even have a turtle and a cute puppy named Duke. Zarabanda (the town the training center is in) is in the mountains and the weather is perfect. It has rained very hard numerous times and caused the power to go out but i enjoy the sound form the safety and comfort of my sleeping bag under my mosquito net. I have met some incredible people here so far and cant wait to get to know more Hondureños and get to know the 49 other volunteers in my group. There are around 14 (out of the 49) who are in the health program here and im sure i will get to know them very well. In my family there is a madre y padre and also 1 hopst sister (15) and two host brothers (10 and 20). I have the most beautiful verandha that use to be a church and then a restraunt but is now wide open and HUGGGGEEE. At the end of the very large verahnda the hill drops off into a valley and so I have the most incredible 180 degree view of the breathtaking Honduran mountain side. Its just lovely here. I live about a 30 min walk away from this very neat town called Valle de Angeles and here there are many restaraunts, internet cafes and even an America Coffee place that offers WiFi. Stay posted for updates and hopefully some pictures soon once i figure everything out. I miss you all and I cant wait to here how everyone is doing. My email is lindsdewing@gmail.com . Adios for now but I will post again in a week or so when I have time to make it into town. I hope ñife is well for everyone in the cold pacific northwest...im sending the good weather your way. Love you all and thanks for the great sendoff. With love and excitement for the journey ahead, Lindsay

2.5 days left in WA

Well here we go. Tomorrow is my final going away party and the one on Monday (President's day) was a blast. Thanks to all those that were able to come and for those that coming to the party tomorrow night Im looking forward to seeing you! I have 2.5 days left and I did my last final pack yesterday. Its going to be tight but I think I was able to meet the 80 pound restriction. Im very excited to begin this adventure and I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the support you have given me. I am a very fortunate person to have such wonderful friends and family. Grandma and Grandpa I love you very much and cant wait to see you when I get back. I love you. Chelsie thanks in advance for hosting the party tomorrow and Mom and Dad (and Chels too!) thanks for all your hard work on Monday. I dont think that I am going to be able to use the computer for the first 3 weeks or so while in Honduras but Ill try and update my blog as often as I can. I love you all and THANKS!