...

Not much new in Tornabè City. The town has died down quite a bit since the feria ended yesterday. All that remains are the mountains of trash scattered about...suprisingly, there is a group of people that attempt to pìck up the litter here, but I´m sure the majority of it will end up in the ocean, or being burnt with the rest of the trash. For those unaware, the trash problem down here is huge. I got accostumed to this in Ecuador, so I wasn´t too shocked by the amount of trash in every corner of the country, but it is still disappointing.

I met today with the office of the Patronato here. It is similar to a city government, but typically much stronger in the Garifuna communities. I discussed with them what sort of projects are already going on, and what they may want me to help implement. A major concern here is a huge development project the government is trying to get going right on the coast, basically right in my town and the surrounding area. Although most people I´ve talked to are against it, they realize it is probably a lost cause. Because of this, many are interested in learning English so they will be more employable at the resorts that will inevitably be coming. The patronato´s main hope is for me to teach classes to interested people in the town. Before coming in, I realized that there would be a desire for this, despite the fact that I have no English-teaching training and just finished 3 months of training in health-related issues. So anyway, I´m going to start some classes because I realize its importance in the community...but in no way will it become my main project or something that I invest a huge amount of time to.

Something I am more interested in is helping with a group of orphans here in town. Tomorrow I am meeting with a Pastor that is in charge of the 80 or so kids, most of whom their parents have passed away from AIDS. I also am trying to find out more information about a support group for People Living with HIV/AIDS here in town. I´ve been getting used to the way things work here in Honduras...people not showing up for meetings or showing up hours late, apathetic attitudes (a common saying is ¨Si Dios quiere,¨ which means ¨If God wants...¨) etc. I´m hoping to have steady and useful work going within the next two months, which I have been told by some is wishful thinking. We´ll see...I suppose it´s better to have goals than to adopt the Honduran attitude (although I do have a pretty spectacular spot for my hammock where I could pass the next two years...).

Oh, and for those of you wondering, I have not yet purchased a horse. I´m thinking it´d be helpful to find my own place to live and make sure I can afford a bed and various other necessities before accepting responsibility for another living being.