Sunday, December 21, 2008

Hijole...Joy

So I am home for Christmas with my parents...it's nice to have fast and reliable Internet access, all day, everyday (at least for a little while). We are getting close to the year and a half mark, and I think that the end of the calendar year calls for reflection more than anything else. I have been in site now for about 1 year and 3 months (mas o menos) and in that time I think that we have gotten a lot done and I have had a lot of fun along the way with my fellow catrachos (hondurans) and gringos (americans). The chicken coop project was complete some time ago and the Chiclets we bought are BIG now and will start producing very soon, which is AWESOME! Currently I have been working to market walnut seeds with an international seed distributor located in a nearby city and we have had success and I am pretty sure the it will be sustainable and will bring some more income into my community every year which is also AWESOME.
I got to ride around on a donkey the other day and play polo, it was Peace Corps vs. Honduras. We lost, by a lot, but it was still a lot of fun. I think however the most fun cultural activity I have participated in so far was the Honduras vs. Mexico soccer game in San Pedro a couple month ago. We got absolutely soaked at the game; the environment and fans were out of this world. The stadium was like a heart and the beating of the heart the passion the Honduran fans were pouring into the game. When Honduras scored the goal that would prove to be the winner that heart exploded from so much joy and emotion. Those experiences are truly the best, and for an instance it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, old or young, black or white, everyone is bonded as one through the pure emotion and everyone is equal (except the Mexicans, they were probably just cussing and kicking the floor).
When I head back to Honduras I am hoping that the water filters project we are starting up will really get going and this next year I am going to try and work more in the school and maybe do some environmental education, or something along those lines.
I hope that everyone who is reading this has (or had) a wonderful holiday season, whether at home or at your second or third homes. Sometimes it is not possible for us to physically be with one another and at certain times of the years it’s felt more than others, however there is always something that puts us with are loved ones everyday, and never deny that that thing exists (it does, or maybe it doesn’t but if we think it does it will at least make us feel better (maybe)).

Cheers