My Info

I've created this blog because I think it will be easier for me to load tales of my experiences to one site, rather than wait for the unreliable internet in Honduras to send mass emails to everyone. Keep in mind, however, that I will still love receiving email and will respond as often as possible. (Friends, keep in mind that this blog is also for my family...so please keep your commentary PG!!)

On Monday, February 12 I will be flying to DC to meet the rest of my Peace Corps Honduras training group. On February 14, we'll fly as a group to Tegucigalpa, Honduras and immediately board a bus to Santa Lucia, where 11 weeks of training will be held. I'll be staying with a family, but the address where I will be able to receive mail is as follows:

Anna Walburn, PCT Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3158
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
America Central

Here is some information from the Peace Corps manual regarding mail from the States: ...We discourage you from having money or other valuable items sent to you through the mail. Electrical appliances cannot be sent through the mail, as they are prohibited items and could be subject to a fine. Letters and packages are sometimes opened by postal workers, and valuable items occasionally disappear. In addition, the process of retrieving a package at the post office can be time-consuming, and customs duties may exceed the value of the items sent. If you must have packages sent, however, we recommend padded envelopes.

In addition, Federal Express, UPS, and DHL have offices in Tegucigalpa and can deliver packages to the Peace Corps office. Please do not send any electrical device or appliances via FedEx, UPS, or DHL, as a customs clearence process is required which will cost around $90 (plus you will be charged an additional 75 percent of the cost of the device). Please let your family and friends know this before sending any mail. We also encourage you to ask for shipment tracking numbers so you can track packages through the carriers' websites. Remember that these delivery services cannot deliver to a post office box, so you will have to provide the following street address for the Peace Corps office: Avenida Republica de Chile #401, Colonia Palmira, Tegucigalpa (phone: 504.232.1753)...

Also note, any of you who care to send me packages, try to do so in the bubble envelope things, not boxes. This prevents those silly kids at Customs in Honduras from easily opening and taking things, and resealing it to look like nothing happened. As an additional preventative measure, write "Articulos Religiosos" (Religious articles) or "Materiales de la educacion" (Education material) on the outer packaging so prospective thieves have less desire to open packages to begin with. Letters would be much more welcome than packages, however.

I am unsure if the family I will be staying with will have a telephone (or electricity..or running water, for that matter). If so, I will send an email with that number once I arrive in the country. Anyway, don't miss me too much...and feel free to come visit me whenever you'd like. Honduras has some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in the world..and some awesome countries are just a short bus ride or flight away (Costa Rica, Belize...etc).

For those of you in Omaha...I'll be here til the 12 Feb so call me if you want to see my smiling face one last time. (658-0716). If not, I'll miss you all and you better keep in touch!!