FINALLY!!!

Here is my room in Santa Lucia


Finally...

Here is the nest of bugs that I murdered in my room in Santa Lucia, after which I nearly suffocated from the fumes of the bug spray


Here's a view of Santa Lucia from the mountain where we hiked a lot


This is a view of the capital, Tegucigalpa AKA the forbidden land, from Santa Lucia


All of the following are taken from the diarrhea charla we gave during a training session (It was supposed to be about upper-respiratory infections, but my group got a little off topic)







All the photos above were taken during training in Santa Lucia. Now, I'm living in La Paz, where we've had more opportunities for hands-on experience in the community. Last Friday, we went to the Police Academy for a session on Men's health. This is an important topic in Honduras because of the machismo...men rarely go to the doctor, and lack opportunities for education about many health issues. We split up into several groups, and gave charlas to groups of about 25 each. The guys were between the ages of 18 and 30, and were a really interesting group to work with. We utilized a lot of non-formal education techniques, which is why a lot of these pictures look like we're just playing games...



This photo is of another aspirante instructing a session with the cadets. It was pretty funny...before we went, we were told to ask them all to remove their guns because we were going to be playing a lot of games that involved running around, and it was unlikely that they had the safety on. Fortunately, our group did not have any guns


It's a fact of life!!!...not sure if this picture is too clear, but if you can see what they're doing, I'm sure you can imagine the comedy in the situation.



Anyway, that session was a lot of fun. This week, we traveled to an aldea (a small community outlying a larger community) where we visited the Centro de Salud (health center). Friday, we are going to another community to have session on baby-weighing and maternal health. From the sessions we've had so far, I definitely think I have more interest in working with people living with HIV,AIDS, and with the Men's health program...I'll find out in 4 weeks what I'll end up doing!

Here's a couple pictures of my house in La Paz. I love it. As you can see, I have a giant mango tree right in front of my bedroom that provides shade for the awesome hammock underneath. Unfortunately, a giant, horribly mean pitbull lives underneath the hammock, so I don't think I'll be spending a lot of time there. Nonetheless, it's a great house and an awesome family that has been helping me out a lot.





As you can see, I have a TV in my room, with cable. I also have a stable supply of electricity, so am able to charge and use my laptop frequently. It's quite luxurious.

Next week is Semana Santa. It used to be an important religious holiday in Honduras, and still is in some parts. However, most people use it as a chance to go to the beaches, rivers, or basically anywhere they can swim and get wet. We have training Mon-Wed, so I'm not sure what will go on the rest of the week. We're still not allowed to travel, so I'm sure it won't be too exciting of a time.

PS Thanks for figuring out how to post the pics, Caroline

So...I just looked at the blog as it appears for you guys and realize that the texts do not line up with the pictures. I'm sure you guys can all figure out what's going on in them. This was a trial run, so hopefully now I'll have an easier time getting them up.