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!