Hey everyone!
GREAT NEWS! I am writing this from my very own laptop, which I have been without for nearly 3 months now! Thank God it made the trip between Honduras and the US twice without being stolen (and maybe some fibbing on the customs label), but hey, I have all my old music, pictures, movies and documents. Everyone knew I got my computer in the mail today because they said I was basically beaming.
So, as to barely make the cut for getting a post out to you guys for August I will post what I had prepared back for you the first week of June, the week my computer crashed and I also met the President of Honduras. That post was titled, "What A Week!"
So, enjoy the retro-post and let's all hope and pray that this hard drive lasts me the remaining time here, so I can keep you all updated.
Here it is:
What a week!
This week is off to a good start. Monday night and I’m ready for the weekend, in a good way!
Monday was spent in the office watching the city get spiffy-ed up for the visit of the President and members of his cabinet. I scoured our Business DVD (this huge folder full of 7 gigs worth of information on all things business in Honduras that has been passed to all business volunteers) for information about how to teach basic accounting to women who have a microempresa (I’m scared to death of accounting. I figure may as well tackle it and get comfortable with it!) Got to chat with the Business project director and seems like it will be ok for me to go on a trip to the North Coast in the beginning of July (even though we’re not technically supposed to leave until after two months in site, which would be July 15.) I passed the afternoon learning and playing bocce. Bocce in Honduras? Yep, I’m starting to work some with the group at the local center for people with disabilities (mental and physical). This team is training to go to the local Special Olympics tournament in a few months. How awesome is it that I get to work with them?!
Tuesday brings the big day when I get to meet the President and other important government officials. Wednesday, I’m taking off for an aldea about two hours away to give the aforementioned accounting charla. I’ll get to see the PAM volunteer who lives out that way again…pretty excited about that! Thursday I’m giving a charla to the group from the center for disabled people who are starting a microempresa also. This time about team work…sounds like a motivational type thing to me…also kinda nervous! That afternoon, some of the teachers from the high school are taking me to lunch and I believe from there on, I will really be looking forward to Friday and the weekend! We’ll see how it goes.
Tuesday – Mission Accomplished! I wasn’t exactly given an opportunity to meet the President; instead I had to make it happen. Since I was one of the “invited guests”, I got to sit in the nice chairs set up for the meeting. It was basically a meeting of the president and the members of his cabinet held outside the capital. I sat with the director of the local school board and she explained to me who all the different ministers were. Then came the announcement that the president would be arriving in five minutes. Five minutes turned into about 15, but he showed up with little fanfare. Oh, yah…he did arrive in a helicopter! It landed a few blocks away though in the soccer field, so it wasn’t that huge a deal for where the people were gathered. After he entered the tented area he started greeting everyone and shaking hands…yah, I shook his hand, but he was just making his way down the line, so my chance for the photo op, was yet to be had. They had their meeting, pretty basic government/politics. I found one part funny (as in ironic); the minister of environmental affairs mentioned how things need to be done because Global Warming is a factor affecting Honduras. Why is this funny? Many people burn their trash and there are no emissions standards whatsoever for vehicles. Until, they tackle these issues, they can’t really deal with the issue of Global Warming at large. Anyway, the meeting wrapped up with a tree planting, so Señor Presidente was on the move. One of his aides had taken a liking to me (I’m quite the popular gringa here, believe me. If I were interested, I could have my pick of guys. Notice I said IF…I’m not.) Anyway, I used this to my advantage and said, look homie…I need a picture with the president. He helped me get through the crowds of people, until we were up to the line of firefighters who had made a human chain to help the president get to his waiting car. One word from the aide and they broke the chain to let us through. However, there were still people talking to the president and I had to wait. One guy finished his talk with the president, so he turned towards his car to leave. I felt my chance slipping away and I wasn’t gonna waste this opportunity. I yelled out, “Señor Presidente!” and it worked! I got his attention, so I pushed my way past the people between us, threw out my hand for a shake and said, “I’m a volunteer in the Peace Corps and I would like to take a picture with you.” He chuckled, asked my name and we snapped the picture. I made sure he knew it was a pleasure to meet him and he thanked me for my service and that was that. (Yes, I spoke with him in Spanish even though his aide said to talk to him in English.) The whole thing probably lasted about 30 seconds if that. But, like I said…MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! :)
Hope everyone is doing well at home...most of you I have contact with on Facebook, but for the rest of you, leave me a comment here so I know things are going well.
Hasta la proxima vez...
