Final? Update

So anyway...many of you may know, but for those of you that do not, I'm back in the US. I got sick post-Celaque with some mysterious illness. I stayed first in the hospital in Tela, then in La Ceiba, and finally in Tegucigalpa. Those hospital stays probably merit a blog of their own, as I'm sure many of you are curious about third world hospital adventures...Anyway, the doctors in Honduras couldn't come up with a definitive diagnosis for a variety of symptoms ranging from extremely low blood pressure, the rash covering my body, fainting, bloody noses, abnormal blood test results, etc. I was 'medically separated,' which means that the higher-ups in the Peace Corps world didn't think it was safe for me to remain in the country. Devastated is probably the closest word I can find to describe how I felt when I heard this news, but it was so much more than that. Although I was only in the country for 6 months, I feel like I gained a lifetime of experience. It is an opportunity that I would go back and do all over again in a heartbeat (illness included) and definitely plan on living and volunteering abroad in the future...whether that be with the Peace Corps, I don't know.

The hardest part of the experience was collecting my belongings and saying goodbye to my host family in Tornabe. They accepted me as part of their family in an indescribable way; I know that my acceptance and success I had in the community were absolutely due to their help. It was hardest to break the news to my host-sister, Denia. She had been trying to convince me to live with them for the remainder of my 2 years and helped me emotionally as well as physically within the community; she introduced me to friends, cooked me meals, took me to community events to introduce me, and generally accepted me as her own sister. When I arrived home from the hospital and told everyone I had to go back to the US, the family was shocked. After packing my belongings, I went to say my final goodbyes. Denia had left; her husband told me that she couldn't say goodbye to me and didn't believe I would ever come back. It was pretty tough to walk away after that, but I know one day I'll be back and she'll know that I wasn't just giving up on the community.

Anyway, I wanted to give those of you out there in blog world an update. I'm not dead!

One last thought...for anyone out there thinking about applying for the Peace Corps or any sort of international experience, particularly in an underdeveloped country, I say go for it. The experiences you will take back from it can't be gained in a classroom or any job within the US. The challenges I faced and overcame made me realize not only how spoiled we are on so many levels, but also how adaptable humans can be in any situation. You'll never realize what's out there unless you make an effort to see it.

Tegucigalpa

Long time no update...perhaps because I've been in the fine capital of Honduras for almost 2 weeks now. My time in Tegus has been quite the unique experience. Anyone who cares for more info, send me an email and I may or may not give you more details.

Also, for those of you who've sent me packages, Thank you!! I have 3 waiting for me at my mailbox in Tela. I'm still not sure when I'll be able to head back to the coast, but I am looking forward to whatever is inside!

I have free access to email here at the Peace Corps office, so if you guys email me I'll be able to write back fairly rapidly.

A mouse ate a hole through my mosquito net and other random tales…

As I’ve previously mentioned, I have been sharing my bed with a mouse (or mice) for the past week or so. I’d hear it scurrying around at night, and at one point I was sure it was trapped in the mattress. While I was gone, it must have chewed its way to freedom because there was a small hole chewed through the bottom of my mosquito net. I repaired it (with duct tape) and hope that is the last evidence I will see of my little friend.

Yesterday, I received a text message saying only, “Ana por fabor comuniquese con Ma Theresa por su cartera.” [Anna, please communicate with Maria Theresa for your wallet.] Well, I don’t know any Maria Theresas, but recently did have my wallet stolen, so of course I was quite perplexed about the message. Turns out, a commercial sex worker who has been involved with one of the AIDS prevention programs I’ve worked with somehow got a hold of my wallet. Inside I had a list of all the phone numbers of my Honduran counterparts in case I ever lost my phone, and the person recognized the organization and turned it in to the police. I went to the police station today, where I was received much more warmly and with more help than before (may have something to do with the fact that there were no soccer games on TV today—less distractions). Anyway, one of the officers showed me a video tape of two men they had caught recently as well as a collection of things they retrieved from the suspects. Unfortunately, I did not recognize either of the guys nor were any of my belongings there. They decided I needed to go to the main police station, so they called someone to come pick me up. Another officer showed up on the police ‘moto’ (a golf cart-looking thing that is used frequently here—some people even have them as taxis in their towns) and drove me to the main station. Once there, I was swarmed by a friendly group of young officers looking to end their boredom hearing tales of the gringa’s robbery. Once I got my wallet, they said I would have to fill out another form and identify one of the robbers they had caught if I wanted to try and get money back. Although I would have loved to pinpoint the little shit that grabbed my wallet, I only saw his back and therefore could not ID anyone. Nonetheless, I got back my wallet, which still contained my credit and debit cards as well as my Honduran resident ID card. Also, the head officer gave me his cell phone number and said if I ever had any problems again, or if my friends and I ever needed a ride late at night, he would help us out. Although this final step was a bit overly friendly, I was relieved at the way they helped me with the situation.

I also had my first visit to the Tela clinic today, although it was for skin rather than stomach problems. Last night, I noticed a few small red, itchy splotches on my face so I took some Benadryl before going to bed. When I awoke this morning, I discovered half my face was swollen to the point that my left eye couldn’t completely open. If any of you have seen the movie ‘Hitch,’ where Will Smith eats shellfish and he develops an allergic reaction, that’s pretty much what I looked like. Anyway, I freaked out and took Benadryl as well as an allergy/sinus medication (I think it is like Alegra) and called the Peace Corps medical officer. She told me to take Benadryl and go to the clinic in Tela…much easier said than done. One thing I’ve noticed about Hondurans is that no one will ever directly say they don’t know where something is—even if they’re only visiting a town and have no idea where anything is. So, as I wandered through town looking for the Hospital y Clinica Cristiana (who’d have thought there would be dozens of Christian Hospitals and clinics in this religious country??!), asking random strangers on the street, security guards, taxi drivers, and other clinics where I could find my particular doctor. The Peace Corps has a deal with this particular doctor, so I couldn’t be seen at just any old clinic. Directions I got from people ranged from, “si, si, la clinica esta alli, no mas” (the clinic is there, no further-while pointing in an ambiguous direction), “esta clinica queda arriba, arriba, bien lejo” (this clinic is up the road, very far…although later I realized I was only one block from where it was), etc. Anyway, as pleasant as it was to walk around in the blistering heat while my symptoms grew from swollen face to red shoulders and itchy back, I finally called the clinic and got better directions (I had been avoiding this because I hate phone Spanish).

Once at the clinic, the nurse took my weight and blood pressure and I got into to see the doctor. Clearly, her medical training was top notch as she immediately was able to diagnose my malady—“Sunburn,” she said simply. I paused a moment, assured her that it was not sunburn and my face does not normally function as though I have Bell’s Palsy. She took a closer look and began leading to another diagnosis.

After inspecting my mouth and teeth, she decided I had a bad tooth. Again, I patiently explained that I don’t think any sort of oral infection could have developed in a 24-hour period that would cause my eye to swell shut, not to mention the rash on my neck, shoulders, and back. I told her I had taken some Benadryl which hadn’t seemed to do much. She then got out her prescription pad, wrote something, and handed me my fate proudly as if she’d found the cure for cancer. “”Benadryl,” she wrote. Amazing! Finally, I asked her to give me something topical and got out of there as soon as I could. As long as my rash isn’t the first signs of hemorrhagic dengue, I think I’ll turn out ok. I’ll keep you posted.

Tomorrow I’m going out with the auxiliary nurse from the Centro de Salud to distribute ARTs (anti-retroviral therapy—medication for treating HIV) in the rural Garifuna village of Miami. This town is about 1.5 hours walking or 40 minute by truck on a sandy road down the coast. As of yesterday, the nurse was still unsure if she would be able to get enough medication for everyone, so we’ll see how the trip goes. I am also anticipating a visit from the head of USAID in my area sometime soon. I’m not exactly sure what this will entail, but USAID basically controls most AIDS education/prevention programs (funding) here, so it should be interesting.

Finally, I’ve been contacted by a RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who is now working on his PhD in Rural Development and Population who is interested in information on Garifuna populations. As I am one of two volunteers here in Honduras living with the Garifuna, he was given my name as someone who can help. Eventually, he will come down to my site and has asked me to help organize interest groups of Garifuna in my area. I’m really excited about this opportunity because work has been a bit slow going, so this will give me something else to focus my time on that is still pertinent to health in the region.

...I wrote this blog last night. The aforementioned mouse I thought I had gotten rid of bit me last night! Not a pleasant thing to wake up to. Hopefully I don´t get the plague

Back home...

After a nearly a week out of site, I have made it back home. As I was finishing my trip, quite the voyage involving 3 buses (all yellow school buses from the US that would no longer be permitted to carry people up there) and 2 taxi rides, I’ve made it home. Interestingly, I found myself getting more and more excited as I approached my site. This may sound strange, but I was leaving the comforts of being around other gringos, one of whom had her own house where I was able to stay, only to return to my town with no gringos and living with a host family. Anyway, more on my trip…

Last Wednesday I left my site and traveled to San Pedro Sula, where I was meeting up with my closest Peace Corps friend up here on the North Coast. San Pedro is notorious for being the most dangerous city in Honduras, which is quite the achievement for a country considered the most dangerous in Latin America. Anyway, in preparation for my first real visit to the city, I took off all my jewelry, hid most of my money in my bra, and tried my hardest to avoid looking like a tourist. Well, the bus arrived and I went to meet my friend in the Central Park--about a 4 block walk. The city of San Pedro surprised me—much, much cleaner than the capital, well-organized, and seemingly more convenient. Of course, I stayed in the better, more policed areas of the city, but the experience was not nearly what I expected. My friend and I then hopped on a bus to Santa Rosa de Copan, which is a colonial town about 3 hours from the Guatemalan border. The trip is about 2.5-3 hours, depending on how many stops it takes (unless you pay extra for a direct bus, the buses will generally stop at any point on the trip if someone flags them down from the side of the road). In general, there are a large number of volunteers in the west of Honduras. In fact, the Peace Corps only began putting volunteers on the North Coast a few years ago due to violence and drug trafficking problems that has since decreased, thus allowing us lucky volunteers to have homes on the Caribbean. Anyway, due to the large numbers of volunteers in the West, there is a Peace Corps house located in the city of Santa Rosa. It’s basically a frat house, where volunteers can stay for only 50 lempira a night if they need to come in from smaller sites to get groceries, use internet, etc. My friend and I stayed there for the night, where we relaxed and took advantage of the Peace Corps book exchange there. Being in Santa Rosa felt like being in a completely different country compared to being in my site. The town is well-developed with many foreigners living and working there, as well as many amenities like restaurants, real grocery stores, coffee shops (with wireless internet!!), etc.

The following morning, we hopped on a bus to Gracias, in the department of Lempira, Honduras. It was a beautiful bus ride in the mountains. We arrived in the late afternoon, and met up with my good friend that lives there. She is living in her own place with another volunteer in a large 5 bedroom house. In her giant house, she has a TV with cable and a stair-stepper exercise machine—not things one might imagine in a typical Peace Corps house (nor can afford on the Peace Corps salary), but to each his own I suppose. We explored the town, and I was continuously amazed at my ability to not only walk around without sweating, but be comfortable in jeans and a fleece—the climate is quite a bit different than what I’ve become used to in the North.

The following day 2 other volunteers from our training group met up with us in Gracias, and we made preparations for the following day, when we were to begin our hike to the highest peak in Honduras in the national park of Celaque. Luckily, one of our friend’s host-country counterparts had climbed the route several times before, so we did not have to hire a guide.

We set out at 6AM the following morning, beginning with a 30 minute jalon to the base of the mountain. We began the actual hiking around 8am, and it was rough going. I thought I was in decent shape, but running on the beach is not enough to prepare you for walking/climbing/pulling yourself up a mountain. We started at 1400m and made it to the peak around 4:45PM at an elevation of 2400m. After a full day of hiking, we paused for about 5 minutes to take pictures and had just began to put up the tents when it starts POURING. My friend and I shared one 2-person tent while the 4 guys shared a cozy 3 person. We all hung out in the larger tent, cooking dinner and hoping the rain would let up. Around 8PM, my friend and I headed back to our tent only to find it had about an inch of water in it and all our stuff was completely soaked. We salvaged our sleeping bags and whatever warm things we could, and sheepishly went back to the guys tent, hoping for a place to sleep. With no other option, the 6 of us crammed into the tiny tent, where we spent a few uncomfortable hours trying to sleep (we actually couldn’t all fit unless everyone was on their side, so every hour someone would call out ‘rotate’ and we would switch to the other side). I forgot to mention that this whole fiasco took place with our Honduran guide, who spoke no word of English and I think was pretty confused at why we were all trying to cram into his tent. Anyway, around 1AM the rain let up and we managed to get the rain out of our tent enough to be able to sleep comfortably for a few hours. Unfortunately, this coincided with when my body decided to punish me for drinking river water (we figured we were high enough on the mountain that the water source couldn’t have been contaminated by anyone above it) or eating old fish (which I had done the day before) and I stayed awake most of the night with an upset stomach and fever. We woke up around 6:30AM, and after a quick picture taking session and breakfast, we set off down the mountain. Initially, I had dreaded going down because I had images of losing balance with the weight of my pack and falling off one of the many drop-offs, but it was actually quite fun and I only fell 4 times—once on a giant jagged rock that left quite the bruise on my butt. We made it down around 3:30PM with my knees feeling like there was no cartlidge left and my legs almost as sore as when I ran the marathon. I forgot to mention that I completed this long day of hiking without eating anything, because I was concerned the state of my stomach might punish me with numerous bathroom breaks in precarious positions on steep cliffs. Anyway, the trip was a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from my site.

Pictures from Celaque:
Bright, smiling faces at 6AM...


Me and my friend in the back of the pick-up, en route to base






Top of the mountain in the cloud forest


Me on top of Honduras...


Now, I’m happily back in my site and so excited to be able to enjoy all the goodies sent by my mom. The chocolate held up quite nicely, and the tea is the perfect thing to wake up to. Drinking a cup, it made me realize the little things I miss-like waking up in the morning, drinking tea and doing the crossword puzzle. Also, I shared some peanut butter and apple with my host fam here-they love it!

I’ve also just found out my boss (the person in charge of Peace Corps Honduras health project) has placed a transfer volunteer (formally in Paraguay) to Tela, which is the city nearest me. She is replacing the girl that I was in training with who decided to go back early to the US. Anyway, I will meet her tomorrow in a lunch meeting with my boss and an evaluator from Peace Corps headquarters. The evaluator will then travel to my town and talk to my counterparts about the work I’ve been doing, how the Peace Corps is/can help, etc. I also may be lucky enough to visit to a Honduran medical facility. Since I’m no longer in training, I don’t get to see the Peace Corps medical staff right away. As a volunteer, I have to go to a regular Honduran clinic, see a doctor, get treated by him/her, and if it doesn’t work, the Peace Corps pays for my trip down to Tegus to see a Peace Corps doctor. Although I’m a bit skeptical of this process, I plan on saying ‘no’ to any sort of shot (most Hondurans don’t believe their illnesses will be cured unless they get some sort of shot, so most doctors will take the pills that would ordinarily treat someone, crush it up and make it into a solution, and inject it) and I think I’ll be fine. We’ll see how my stomach feels in the next few days…

Final news…just signed the contract with my landlady for my new place! All the other volunteers from my training group are moving in to their places July 1st, but I’ll be waiting until August 1st. I’ll try to take some pictures soon, but am very excited about the prospects of having my own place. It’s on the main road of my town (really the only road), right next door to the house of the patronato (similar to the mayor), so it should be safe. It has one large room, 2 bedrooms, and a bathroom. Right now, there is no ‘kitchen’ per say, but I bought a hot plate and a small refrigerator from a soon-to-be former volunteer, and there is a pila out back (a multi-purpose water source with a faucet where most people wash their closes, dishes, etc), so that should do. We do lose electricity pretty often here, so eventually I’ll probably have to buy a gas-run stove, but the basics should do for now.

Here´s a few other random pics...
I give private English classes to a girl in my site in exchange for braids. I was too lazy to take out the most recent batch, left them in for a week, and nearly had dreads. I would say I lost about 10 handfuls of hair trying to get them out...lesson learned.



You´d think in a beachfront house, one might desire a vacuum to get all the sand off the carpets. Well, apparently these are hard to come by, so I´ve devised my own method of ´vacuuming´ my room...



Also, if anyone is sending any packages and has any small, old (clean) towels, it´d be great if you could stick them in. I use them as sweat rags, but buying new towels is pretty expensive here. Thanks!

New Pictures...

Here are some photos of both my town, and of the city of Tela, where I spent last Saturday with some friends...


The rainy season has begun...here´s a photo of a storm rolling in.


Here´s a pic of the main street in Tornabé, complete with a gimp pig that drags it´s 2 feet behind him to get anywhere. I think it should be put of out its misery, but apparently not.


This is the house I was supposed to live in, right on the Calle Principal (main street)



This is the front view of my disco that I chose to live in...don´t worry, the piles of cement make great fun for the kids to play in. Plus, the back side of the house is the Caribbean, so you can´t beat that.



The following are all views of Tela from the sweet hotel we stayed at...








And finally, signs I put up for my English classes in town .For those of you Spanish-speakers, you can´t comment on the errors...they are signs for English classes anyway!



I´ve been able to be on the internet more often the past few days because I´m helping my project director organize a capacitation for volunteer counterparts, which requires me to come into Tela to use the services here (printing, copying, faster internet, etc)

Hope everyone´s well!

Packages, etc

So..apparently Fed Ex can´t deliver to my lovely North Coast home, so if any of you want to send packages, may as well do it via US Post Office. This method is cheaper, anyway...just don´t spend anything expensive in case it doesn´t make it through customs. (This message does not go for you mom...you can Fed Ex my bday package to the PC office in Tegucigalpa and I´ll find a way to get it...maybe you can even give me the bus money to go down and pick it up as an extra bday gift. It´s a whole $16!)

Last week I had a chance to help with a capacitation for people living with HIV/AIDS in my community. It was a great opportunity because eventually I hope to help start a support group for PLWHA (People living with HIV/AID) in my community, so it was nice to meet people and sort of build a foundation. It also gave me some confidence in my knowledge on the subject. A group of facilitators from Tegucigalpa from the NGO Vision Mundial (World Vision) led the capacitation, but it was something I could have easily done on my own, which suprised me. During the capacitation, the group shared ways to stay on schedule with their meds, how to alleviate and deal with side effects, as well as how to take on social stigmas, etc. I added my input as much when I could, and hope to develop similar capacitations for my own support group in the future. So far my main objectives in the next few months are to begin a project called Encargada de mi Vida (In Charge of My Life), an HIV/AIDS prevention program for 5th and 6th graders in the school in town, begin laying the foundation for a support group in town, possibly start something similar to Encargada de Mi Vida with some of the kids from the orphanage (focused more on leadership and nutrition rather than HIV prevention, because some of them were born with it), and begin applying for a Peace Corps grant to get a home/school built for the kids. The way Peace Corps grants work is that the community has to be willing to donate a certain percentage of the money, whether it be in labor, materials, etc. The Peace Corps helps with the rest through a variety of grants, but it is a difficult process, so I´m not sure how it will turn out.

Last Saturday, 2 of my PC friends came to Tela (the city nearby), where we spent the night in an amazing hotel. They gave us a discount for being poor volunteers, which was great. It was up on a hill, with amazing views of the city of Tela as well as the Caribbean. I´ll post pictures tomorrow or later this week.

The rest of this week and next, I´ve been asked by a church group from Canada to help them give charlas on Nutrition and Hygiene in the communities around my area. Mostly I´ll be translating, but it will be good to get some information from them and travel more about my area.

That´s all for now.

Happy (late) Anniversary Mom and Dad!! and
Happy (late) Birthday Laura!

Virus...

So apparently third world computers are just as clean as third world water, third world food, etc. I had been writing blogs, uploading pictures, etc on my laptop and saving them on my USB, then bringing that to internet cafes to get everything done more quickly. Apparently most of the computers in the internet cafes have a ton of viruses (I guess I should have figured that), so I got one on my USB, and apparently transfered it to my laptop, which is completely useless now. Every time I turn on the computer, a screen pops up that says ¨Muerte a Israel, EEUU. Libertad para Palestina, Irak y Afganistan;¨ which basically says ¨Death to Israel and the United States. Liberty for Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan (pretty obvious). So, now my computer is worthless until I find someone that can fix it...not sure how that will work. That means no pictures or long blogs for you guys, and no ipod, music, or DVD watching for me :(